NightDust
by locket-girl
Summary: "Hikaru- what's the meaning of this?" Yukimura asked, having no idea that the name was just a pseudonym. "I'm sorry," Kari whispered. By slamming her knee into his stomach, she brought him to his knees and gained the dominance over him. "You're going to help me to hide from these people," she hissed, pressing her pink silhouette switchblade to his throat. YukixKari (Kari Yagami)


**Disclaimer: I neither own Pot or Digimon.**

* * *

**NightDust**

_By locket-girl_

"Hikaru, what's the meaning of this?" Yukimura asked in shock, staring wide-eyed at her.

"I'm sorry," Kari whispered under her breath, letting her pink-dyed bangs hide her eyes from the young man. By lifting her knee and slamming it with the most cautious force possible into his stomach, she brought him down to his knees. He gasped in shock and pain, his features twisting into a grimace.

She grabbed his dominant arm and twisted it behind his back, holding a pink silhouette switchblade to his throat.

Her expression was schooled into the most emotionless mask she could manage as she said coldly, "You're going to help me to hide from those people, Yukimura."

§

The train departed and went to Tokyo (or to be more concrete to Tokyo's Old Town) but Kari had no illusions. The arrival at the destination would bring her no freedom, only more time. It would only delay the inevitable. The hours passed slowly.

It was over, everything was over, Kari Yagami thought.

She felt as if she had died on the inside.

The view outside was strongly depressing, nothing but the grayness of the sky and the ugly bareness of the trees met the eye. The ground was covered by dying grass, which was dyed brown. Eventually the minutes tickled by and a ticket controller came by. Those people were never liked by anyone, Kari mused, as she watched the other passengers groaning silently while taking out their tickets.

She did the same and finally the ticket controller stood before her, checking her ticket.

"What's a young girl like you going to do in that _district_ of Tokyo?" He asked, putting a strong emphasis in his voice. He almost seemed shocked.

Obviously he was more than surprised that a girl like her was traveling to one of the most isolated, almost abandoned region in Tokyo instead of its colorful capital. Therefore her destination wasn't even mentioned in the maps and that was the exact reason why she was going to live there.

She shrugged her shoulders and forced an insincere smile on. "I'm going to live there."

The controller's eyes widened at first, then he frowned at her. "That district might have the nice nickname "The Old Town of Tokyo", but there is nothing nice about it. it should be rather nicknamed "The Town of Misfortune." Nothing good will happen to you, if you go to that place, Kamiya-san."

"Don't worry," she said, her eyes slowly hardening. "I know what I'm doing."

He gave a shrug off his shoulders but then backed off, getting the hint to leave her alone. "Alright, miss. Have a good journey, then."

He handed the ticket back to her, and Kari wished she could've felt bad for having reacted the way she did. But she couldn't and maybe that fact was a small tragedy itself.

§

The train station of Tokyo's Old Town reeked of hopelessness, that was the first thing that came to her mind when she got off with her luggage. She pulled her coat tighter around herself, already feeling alienated by the colorless place. Only the most desperate people would want to live here. There was no lightning. The windowed ceiling of the station didn't even cover the entire station, only the half of it so that the cold had no problems to breath through. There were only a few stands, a bakery, butcher, second-hand shop and a kiosk. A red vending machine that sold drinks stood at the corner, seeming to the only thing that looked inviting to her. It was sad actually.

Maybe this was karma, maybe she deserved to live here.

No longer holding onto the collar of her coat, she slid her hands into its pockets and turned away, making her way to the apartment complex she was going to live in.

She didn't have much luggage with her, only a duffel bag with some clothes, toilet utensils and two paper bags with some food but she wouldn't need much anyway. There was still enough money left from the "work" she had done a couple of months ago, but eventually she would end up using it all and then she would've nothing to support herself. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she should care that she might end up on the street.

Her footsteps felt heavy, everything felt heavy until she arrived at her future apartment complex, the building she was going to live in from today on.

She already hated it- although it looked relatively decent from the outside, she knew it was a disaster on the inside. She had seen the badly photoshoped pictures of a room from this complex; there was only a single washbasin, a toilet and enough space to sleep and move, but nothing else.

Although she knew she didn't deserve it, she wanted to live in a better place at least once. She was so sick of buildings that reminded her more of a prison than a home; she had enough of being confined for the rest of her life.

With a deep sigh, she rang the bell of the landlord lady, Sumire Ryuzaki, and a moment later the main door opened. Kari forced the best fake smile on her face, in order to make the most friendly impression possible.

„Good morning, landlady-san," she greeted the elder woman who must've been in her early sixties at least. For an old woman, she was surprisingly tall and sturdy but it would've still been easy for Kari take her out. She was younger and stronger, and most of all- trained after all. The old woman was dressed in clothes that Kari would never wear but for someone her age that style would allow her to completely drown in crowd.

However, there was on thing that distinguished this old women from the others: her eyes. They were hard with spite and hatred as they fixated on Kari.

"Another young thing who believes she can survive here," Ryuuzaki Sumire practically spat out her "greeting" at the much younger girl, who felt a sharp flash of anger. Kari was astonished that she still capable of feeling emotions.

„Believe me, I have survived without my parents since I was six," Kari replied neutrally, and thinking in the back of her mind that what she told the old woman was sadly the truth.

Old wounds broke opened, ulcerating.

„Mmph," the landlady snorted. „Mind telling me how old you are, then?"

„I'm twenty-four, so I'm not even a minor anymore, madam," Kari answered with no real interest.

"Hmpf, you certainly don't look that way," the landlady remarked and Kari remembered that her brother had once said the same. The memory was a bitter-sweet pain to her.

Before the conversation could get any worse, the old woman finally seemed to remember why Kari was here and changed the topic. „Just make sure to pay the rent on time, girl. I'm an old hag, who has no mercy with those who don't. I'll throw you out to the streets faster than you can blink, if I get the money only one minute too than a dog can shit!"

Then she stepped forward, past Kari, finally willing to show her the apartment she was going to live in. They ascended the open-air staircase of the low-rise building and arrived at the first floor. Five uniform apartments were here, and they could only be told apart by the room-numbers on the doors. The doors were all made out of metal and would at least offer more security than the ones made of wood, which was a great relief to Kari.

The landlady held up the keys tagged with the number 103, and Kari held out a hand, letting her drop them into her open palm. „Take good care of them. Tell me at once, if you lose them! It'll cost you!"

„I will," Kari promised indifferently, without really listening to her rant. There was no point in doing so. Nothing had a point anymore to Kari but life wasn't that easy. Fate was never kind; even if you wanted to give up on everything, it'll throw something in your way to force you to live again. And exactly that happened to Kari in the next minutes.

The door of the apartment right beside Kari's opened slowly and a young man stepped into the view of the two women.

„Ara! Good afternoon, Yukimura-san!" Immediately the landlady's attitude made a backward flip-

Kari looked up, and her path twisted around his, the threads of their destiny fated to intertwine.

The young man was attractive; his beauty was almost eerie. His eyes were dark, smokey, smothering her. His features were feminine but the hard lines of his jaw and throat made it clear that he couldn't be anything but male. Wavy blue hair cascaded across his eyes, cheek-line and chin, matching his looks perfectly.

Kari's lips parted. She wanted him.

The young man, on the other hand, didn't return the landlady's elated greeting with words. He only nodded in disinterest at them.

Kari kept on fighting the attraction, which manifested itself in form of vicious butterflies, while absently noted his clothing style. He wore a dark khaki blazer over a white button shirt and black, skinny jeans for men, along with a pair dark ankle boots. The outfit fit him well but increased his already somber appearance.

She was staring at him, entranced, but he merely shuffled his hands into his pockets and strode casually past her. The scent of his sweet men cologne swept past her, he smelled of camomile flowers and winter. It made her heart ache.

The landlady snickered behind her back in the background and broke Kari's trance with that. She ground her teeth, fighting the urge to throttle that nasty creature.

„Well...call me, if you need anything- _young lady," _the scratchy, mocking voice of the landlord crawled across her ear canal.

§

When she entered the apartment, the first thing she did was to check it for bugs and bombs. She opened every shelve and door, breathing out in relief to find nothing suspicions. Sadly the apartment was in an even worse state than the badly photoshoped pictures on the real estate website had suggested. The pale walls and the tatami mats were caked with dirt, distinctively smelling of old urine and semen, which truly disgusted Kari. So she dropped all her things and immediately started cleaning the entire apartment, even though she felt everything but energetic. However, when she was done, she didn't regret her decision at all because now at least believe a decent human being could live here. Then she took out her i-phone, which was encased in a cover with pink rabbit ears ( a design she had purposely chosen in order to at least _feel_ like a young woman), and checked the time with it. 4:30. P.M.

She still had enough time to take a hot shower before her first work shift in this town began, which she really deserved and was glad for it. The shower in the tiny bathroom offered very little luxury but that was to be expected; at least the hot water worked perfectly.

When she finished her shower and having fully dressed (since the heater malfunctioned), she sat down in front of a plain chest of drawer for which she had paid extra. She took out her make-up bag from her black Adidas duffel bag and unzipped it, applying mascara and lip gloss. Afterward she combed her hair carefully, then tied it into an elegant bun from which long, curly strands escaped. She looked like a completely different person than the real 'Kari Yagami', and it was comforting and eerie at the same time.

Her hair was dyed a pale pink and her eyes hidden by black contact lenses. Fake hair color. Fake eye color. Everything about herself felt alienating to her.

A doll-like girl with dead eyes in the reflection of the mirror stared back at her.

_'You should have died at that time, too...' _An inner voice accused harshly, and Kari didn't even bother to argue with it because that was also what she thought.

She slipped her hand into her left jeans pocket and curled it around the handle of her favorite Italian switchblade, feeling an odd sense of calmness washing over. Then, she rose slowly from the floor and swept into her trench-coat. A can of pepper spray was hidden in the inner pocket of the garment just for measure- Kari threw a quick glance at the secret hiding place of her only gun.

Two weapons for the worst scenario should be more than enough for now.

She headed out to work and locked the door behind her.

§

"The Nameless Bar" was built in a rather isolated area of Tokyo's Old Town and looked unfriendly and cold on the outside, but the interior made a slightly better impression. The architecture inside was simple; a bar stood at one corner of the wall and beside it there was a black board with the prices of the beverages. The wood of the stools and chairs and tables was not the most expensive, having scratches on the surface

The customers here were mostly in their late thirties and forties, unemployed and spending the money they received from the state on alcohol. Nameless faces, all of them- and for a second Kari felt faint. Paranoia crept into her system, making her feel on the edge.

_'They are just strangers without names, nothing else, nothing more, Kari.'_

She exhaled, balling her fists to force herself to calm down.

"I'm so glad that you're finally here, Kamiya-san! How has the journey to Tokyo's Old Town been?" Her future boss' voice snapped her out of her spiral of paranoia. True, if she wasn't safe here for the time being, then she wouldn't be safe anywhere.

"Tiring," she forced herself to answer, smiling back at the taller man. He must've been in his mid-thirties, and he was surprisingly clean-shaven, almost handsome. His blue eyes were the color of winter but, they were surprisingly warm and friendly.

"Of course, what else," he remarked with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "Well you see I've just opened this bar and I'm really short on staff, so I'm really happy you want to work here. The payment isn't the best in the first few months, so I hope you can bear with it?"

"Sure, I have no problem with it. I would really love to work here," she said, successfully faking enthusiasm and forgetting about her paranoia- at least for now.

"Excellent." He smiled but there was something sinister about his smile. "I must say that you're even prettier than in the photo you've send me through e-mail. The customers are going to love you."

A shadow fell across Kari's expression, his words made it obvious he had only hired her for her looks to attract customers. She knew it was too good be true; there was nothing kind about this man. Nowadays no adult was kind out of kindness, she mused with a mixture of sadness and bitterness.

But at least she didn't need to worry about losing her life or getting caught by the police in this bar.

§

When her shift finally ended, she felt as if a second burden had settled itself on her back. How was she going to keep on working in that place that was full of monsters? She already didn't want to work there anymore. There was nothing comforting about the "Nameless Bar."

The walk home was lonely with nothing but the lines of trees on either sides of the street and the cold as company. There was really nothing comforting about this environment, she mused darkly. The pink converse she wore made no sound on the pavement and the silence only increased her feeling of not really existing. She felt like a phantom, and she was torn between liking and hating it.

When she arrived at the dilapidated apartment complex and climbed the stairs, the feeling of emptiness grew even heavier and heavier. Although there it was a night full of stars tonight- she didn't think it was beautiful. Without her brother nothing was beautiful, not even a night-sky bejeweled with stars. For her time had become an obscureness, past and present were constantly blurring together, and tomorrow was just another day for her. It was meaningless, insiginificant- just like her.

When she arrived at her floor, she realized, however, – she was not alone. With him she would be never alone.

Her extraordinary attractive neighbor was there, too. He was leaning on the border with folded arms and an angled leg, mesmerized with -star-gazing. Kari couldn't believe it- her cold and unfriendly neighbor was indulging in such a romantic activity, which didn't fit him at all. She abruptly tore her gaze away from him, and chiseled the decision to not to waste any more thoughts on him into her mind, and to simply enter her apartment insead.

"It's impolite not to greet your neighbors." His voice tickled her ears. She was startled and fought a chill.

She was cold but even though she was cold, she didn't want to see him.

She looked at him. He wasn't even looking at her but she still shivered. Deep in her mind, she wondered what kind of existence he was, but knew that another woman would find out the answer.

"Who is the impolite one here?" Her mouth instinctively moved, and she spoke out her mind, remembering his coldness during their first encounter.

Upon her hostility, he finally _moved_, dropping his relaxed almost lazy stance to stand to his full height, and _looked_ at her. He eyed her from the top of her head to her the tips of her shoes with a mixture of pure loathing and paradoxically...-interest. Then he looked back up at her and smirked provocatively at her, making her flush red, something she couldn't believe. Sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he strode slowly back to his apartment, almost _mockingly_ slow. The door fell shut behind him with a sense of finality and Kari felt even emptier than before.


End file.
